Hy-Vee CEO Shares Lessons From the Pandemic
Grocer focuses on safety, meeting increased demand and rewarding workers.
Apr 23, 2020 | 3 min read
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa—Like most retailers, Hy-Vee, the Midwestern grocer, has been busy since the COVID-19 outbreak, reports GroceryDive.com.
From implementing one-way traffic throughout the stores to providing full-service fueling at its convenience outlets, Hy-Vee was quick to implement health and safety practices for customers and employees. "They are the most proactive, thoughtful chain that’s out there,” said Phil Lempert, editor of SuperMarketGuru.com.
But the current pandemic has presented the chain with opportunities, CEO Randy Edeker told Grocery Dive in an interview. He does not want to look back on this period with any regrets when it comes to the health and safety of his employees as well as customers, he said. For that reason, the chain has implemented several new policies.
Every checkout stand now has plexiglass barriers in front of each checker—and behind them, as well. Signage in each store keeps customers moving down one-way aisles, and senior and high-risk consumers have dedicated pickup and in-store shopping hours each morning.
Hy-Vee has given 10% bonuses to workers, ordered more than 120,000 masks for their use and made telehealth services, including mental health visits, more affordable.
The chain has also offered e-commerce for several years, but that service is now experiencing record volume and growth. Last month, Hy-Vee closed four online fulfillment centers spread across the Midwest and moved fulfillment back into retail stores. The stores have been able to handle the additional demand, he said, while providing same-day pickup and a wider array of products.
“If we hadn’t done that, we would have never in a million years been able to handle the volume increase that we’ve seen through a single fulfillment center,” he said. “It just wouldn’t have happened.”
Hy-Vee has hired a few hundred new people at the distribution level to help with picking, and almost 1,000 additional store associates. In some areas, Hy-Vee has shifted more of its delivery fulfillment to third-party services, such as Shipt and DoorDash, allowing employees to focus on pickup services and other store needs.
As consumers self-isolate, Hy-Vee is engaging more with customers through digital efforts like Hy-Vee KidsFit, which provides daily exercise videos for kids. It has seen traffic jump 400% in recent weeks, according to Edeker. The company also launched a hashtag, #HelpfulSmileStrong, to connect with shoppers on social media. Celebrities, such as Mark and Donnie Walhberg and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, have participated in the campaign.
Of course, Hy-Vee has also faced challenges. On-premise foodservice, once a substantial part of Hy-Vee’s business model, has been hit hard. Edeker wonders if open-service stations and salad bars will return after the pandemic. The bakery department has suffered, and nonfood sections have slowed.
Like other retail leaders, Edeker is trying to understand what a “new normal” may look like. The longer the pandemic continues, the more people will settle into new habits. "The real question is what ‘normal’ is going to be and when ‘normal’ is going to happen,” he said.
Hy-Vee’s Fast and Fresh convenience store in Altoona, Iowa, is featured in the 2019 NACS Ideas 2 Go. Click here to see the video.
NACS has compiled resources to help the convenience retail community navigate the COVID-19 crisis. For news updates and guidance, visit our coronavirus resources page.
Crisis management
